Pattern Search Box

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the disclosure are directed to establishing a pattern search box for searching one or more documents in a database. Accordingly, a method for searching the database for one or more documents with at least one pattern element, the method including dividing a pattern search box into a plurality of sections; inputting the at least one pattern element to one or more of the plurality of sections of the pattern search box; and searching the database for the one or more documents with the at least one pattern element to the one or more of the plurality of sections of the pattern search box to produce a search result.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY UNDER 35 U.S.C. § 119

The present application for patent claims priority to ProvisionalApplication No. 62/824,142 entitled “Pattern Search Box” filed Mar. 26,2019, and assigned to the assignee hereof and hereby expresslyincorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to the field of searching database,and, in particular, to establishing a pattern search box for searchingone or more documents in a database.

BACKGROUND

In current document files, it is known that many documents with similaror even identical words exist. Thus, with the commonality of words andphrases in different documents or even different versions of thedocuments, it is time consuming to find an exact document quickly andefficiently. Often, a keyword search could produce a list of manydocuments with the same word and even include all the various versionsof the different documents containing the keyword. This is especiallyproblematic if the keyword used in the search is a common word for aparticular application. Additionally, documents may include patterns intheir pages that a user would like to use as a search criteria. Thus,there is a need to combine keyword(s) and pattern(s) in searching fordocuments.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects ofthe present disclosure, in order to provide a basic understanding ofsuch aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of allcontemplated features of the disclosure, and is intended neither toidentify key or critical elements of all aspects of the disclosure norto delineate the scope of any or all aspects of the disclosure. Its solepurpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of thedisclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detaileddescription that is presented later.

In one aspect, the disclosure provides establishing a pattern search boxfor searching one or more documents in a database. Accordingly, a methodfor searching a database for one or more documents with at least onepattern element, the method including dividing a pattern search box intoa plurality of sections; inputting the at least one pattern element toone or more of the plurality of sections of the pattern search box; andsearching the database for the one or more documents with the at leastone pattern element to the one or more of the plurality of sections ofthe pattern search box to produce a search result.

In one example, the method further includes displaying the search resultin a result display with at least one display type. In one example, themethod further includes inputting a first keyword in akeywords-in-document search box prior to searching the database;inputting a second keyword in a keywords-on-page search box prior tosearching the database; and wherein the searching the database uses theat least one pattern element, the first keyword and the second keyword.

In one example, the result display comprises more than two displaytypes. In one example, one of the more than two display types presentsall documents that include the first keyword, the second keyword and aprescribed characteristic defined in the pattern search box. In oneexample, one of the more than two display types presents all documentsthat include the first keyword and a prescribed characteristic definedin the pattern search box. In one example, one of the more than twodisplay types presents all documents that include the second keyword anda prescribed characteristic defined in the pattern search box. In oneexample, one of the more than two display types presents all documentsthat include a prescribed characteristic defined in the pattern searchbox.

In one example, the method further includes inputting a first keyword ina keywords-in-document search box prior to searching the database;inputting a second keyword in a keywords-on-page search box prior tosearching the database; and wherein the searching the database uses theat least one pattern element, the first keyword and the second keyword.

In one example, the method further includes inputting at least onekeyword in a keywords-in-document search box prior to searching thedatabase; and wherein the searching the database uses the at least onepattern element and the at least one keyword inputted in thekeywords-in-document search box.

In one example, the method further includes inputting at least onekeyword in a keywords-on-page search box prior to searching thedatabase; and wherein the searching the database uses the at least onepattern element and the at least one keyword inputted in thekeywords-on-page search box.

These and other aspects of the present disclosure will become more fullyunderstood upon a review of the detailed description, which follows.Other aspects, features, and implementations of the present disclosurewill become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, uponreviewing the following description of specific, exemplaryimplementations of the present invention in conjunction with theaccompanying figures. While features of the present invention may bediscussed relative to certain implementations and figures below, allimplementations of the present invention can include one or more of theadvantageous features discussed herein. In other words, while one ormore implementations may be discussed as having certain advantageousfeatures, one or more of such features may also be used in accordancewith the various implementations of the invention discussed herein. Insimilar fashion, while exemplary implementations may be discussed belowas device, system, or method implementations it should be understoodthat such exemplary implementations can be implemented in variousdevices, systems, and methods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a pattern search page.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example result display of a search using thepattern search box.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a flow diagram for searching a databasefor one or more documents with one or more pattern elements anddisplaying a search result on a result display.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of various configurations and isnot intended to represent the only configurations in which the conceptsdescribed herein may be practiced. The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understandingof various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that these concepts may be practiced without these specificdetails. In some instances, well known structures and components areshown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.

While for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the methodologies areshown and described as a series of acts, it is to be understood andappreciated that the methodologies are not limited by the order of acts,as some acts may, in accordance with one or more aspects, occur indifferent orders and/or concurrently with other acts from that shown anddescribed herein. For example, those skilled in the art will understandand appreciate that a methodology could alternatively be represented asa series of interrelated states or events, such as in a state diagram.Moreover, not all illustrated acts may be required to implement amethodology in accordance with one or more aspects.

The present disclosure relates to establishing a pattern search box forsearching one or more documents in a database. In one example, thedatabase includes a plurality of documents, wherein each of thedocuments may include one or more pages. An object of the search is tofind one or more documents with one or more pages that resembles asearch page.

In one aspect, the searcher establishes a pattern search box by choosingone or more pattern elements that identify the search page. FIG. 1illustrates an example of a pattern search page 100. In the patternsearch page, the following are included:

a pattern search box 110,

a keywords-in-document search box 160,

a keywords-on-page search box 170, and

a list of pattern elements 180.

In one example, the pattern search box 110 is divided into a pluralityof sections 120. As an example, the pattern search box 110 is shown tobe divided into six (6) sections 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126. Each ofthe sections can be populated by one or more pattern elements 180.Examples of pattern elements 180 include text, pictures/drawings (whichmay include photos), tables, charts/graphs, video clips and/or audioclips.

One skilled in the art would understand that the list of patternelements shown in FIG. 1 is not exclusive, and the list may includeother pattern elements not explicitly listed herein. Also, in anotherexample, the pattern elements listed in FIG. 1 may not all be included.One skilled in the art would understand that although six sections areshown in FIG. 1, the quantity of sections may vary within the spirit andscope of the present disclosure.

In one example, a user populates one or more sections with one or morepattern elements 180. In the example shown, the pattern search box 110is populated with three pattern elements: text, picture and table. Asshown in FIG. 1, the pattern element “Text” populates sections 121 and124, the pattern element “Picture” populates section 125, and thepattern element “Table” populates section 123. In one example, adocument with one or more pages that includes the pattern elements inthe populated sections will be included in the search result even ifnone of the keywords in the keywords-in-document search box 160 isfound. In another example, a document with one or more pages thatincludes the pattern elements in the populated sections will be includedin the search result even if none of the keywords in thekeywords-on-page search box 170.

In yet another example, a document with one or more pages that includesthe pattern elements in the populated sections will be included in thesearch result only if the keyword (s) in the keywords-in-document searchbox 160 and/or the keyword(s) in the keywords-on-page search box 170 isfound. In one example, a user has the option of choosing if thekeywords-in-document search box 160 or the keyword(s) in thekeywords-on-page search box 170 are optional or required for a documentto be included in the search result.

In one example, one or more keywords may be entered in thekeywords-in-document search box 160. If one or more keywords are enteredin the keywords-in-document search box 160, then any search result ofdocuments would include only documents in the database that have the oneor more keywords entered in the keywords-in-document search box 160. Inone example, entering one or more keywords in the keywords-in-documentsearch box 160 is optional.

In one example, one or more keywords may be entered in thekeywords-on-page search box 170. If one or more keywords are entered inthe keywords-on-page search box 170, then any search result of documentswould include only documents in the database that have the one or morekeywords entered in the keywords-on-page search box 170 that appears ona page that has the prescribed characteristics defined in the patternsearch box 110. In one example, entering one or more keywords in thekeywords-on-page search box 170 is optional.

In one example, if no keyword is entered in both thekeywords-in-document search box 160 or the keywords-on-page search box170, then the search is confined to finding documents with one or morepages that have the characteristics of the pattern search box 110.

The term “keyword” for inputting in the keywords-in-document search box160 may include terms for searching that are found in the metadata. Thatis, in one example, a keyword that is entered into thekeywords-in-document search box 160 is searched in not only the contentof the documents in the database, but also the metadata associated withthe documents in the database being searched. Metadata may include thetitle and other information associated with the documents.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example result display 200 of a search using thepattern search box. In one example, the result display includes fourdisplay types 210, 220, 230, 240. In display type 210, presented are alldocuments that satisfy the keyword requirement of thekeywords-in-document search box 160, the keyword requirement of thekeywords-on-page search box 170 and the prescribed characteristicsdefined in the pattern search box 110. That is, all the documentspresented in display type 210 includes the one or more keywords enteredin the keywords-in-document search box 160, and includes the one or morekeywords entered in the keywords-on-page search box 170. In addition,all the documents presented in the display type 210 include one or morepages with the prescribed characteristics defined in the pattern searchbox 110. For example, if the prescribed characteristics is the exampleshown in the pattern search box 110 of FIG. 1, then all the documents indisplay type 210 must include one or more pages with text appearing insections 121 and 124, a picture in section 125 and a table in section123.

In one example, the documents in the result display 200 are presented incommon image format (CIF). In one example, the CIF representation ofeach document in the result display 200 shows one of the pages thatsatisfies the prescribed characteristics defined in the pattern searchbox 110. In one example, the documents in the result display 200 arepresented in scaled original document format (e.g., WORD, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, Web page, drawing, etc.). In one example, a page of thedocument that satisfies the criteria of the display type (e.g., displaytype 210, 220, 230, 240) is the page that is displayed as arepresentation of the document found in the search. In one example, thefirst page of the document that satisfies the criteria of a display typeis shown as a representative of the document in the display type.

FIG. 2 shows that there are X quantity of documents that are displayedin display type 210. One skilled in the art would understand that thequantity X can be 1 document or multiple documents.

In display type 220, presented are all documents that satisfy thekeyword requirement of the keywords-on-page search box 170 and theprescribed characteristics defined in the pattern search box 110.However, the documents presented in display type 220 do not satisfy allthe keyword requirement of the keywords-in-document search box 160. WordBox 222 lists the keyword(s) entered into the keywords-in-documentsearch box 160 that is not found in each of the documents presented indisplay type 220. In one example, since there are M quantity ofdocuments in the display type 220, Word Box 222 is divided into Mpartitions with partition 222 ₁ corresponding to document 1 andpartition 222 _(M) corresponding to document M of display type 220. Inone example, the user may chose to display only the Word Box 222 indisplay type 220.

That is, each of the documents presented in display type 220 includesthe one or more keywords entered in the keywords-on-page search box 170and may or may not include the keyword(s) entered in thekeywords-in-document search box 160. In addition, all the documentspresented in the display type 220 include one or more pages with theprescribed characteristics defined in the pattern search box 110. Forexample, if the prescribed characteristics are the example shown in thepattern search box 110 of FIG. 1, then all the documents in display type220 must include one or more pages with text appearing in sections 121and 124, a picture in section 125 and a table in section 123.

In one example, the display type 220, “Word A₁” through “Word Z₁”represent the keywords entered in keywords-in-document search box 160that do not appear in Document 1 of display type 220. In display type220, “Word A_(M)” through “Word Z_(M)” represent the keywords entered inkeywords-in-document search box 160 that do not appear in Document M ofdisplay type 220. Each document from Document 1 through Document Mincludes a corresponding Word Box. In yet another example, each Word Boxthat correspond to one document of the Document 1 through Document M mayinclude multiple pages, wherein each of the multiple pages correspond toa page of the one document. For example, Document 1 includes 5 pages,then the Word Box 222 ₁ would include 5 pages with each page of the WordBox 222 ₁ corresponding to each page of Document 1. Thus, in thisexample, page 3 of Word Box 222 ₁ would the keywords-in-document searchbox 160 that do not appear on page 3 of Document 1.

In another example, the display type 220, “Word A₁” through “Word Z₁”represent the keywords entered in keywords-in-document search box 160that do appear in Document 1 of display type 220. In display type 220,“Word A_(M)” through “Word Z_(M)” represent the keywords entered inkeywords-in-document search box 160 that do appear in Document M ofdisplay type 220. Each document from Document 1 through Document Mincludes a corresponding Word Box. In yet another example, each Word Boxthat correspond to one document of the Document 1 through Document M mayinclude multiple pages, wherein each of the multiple pages correspond toa page of the one document. For example, Document 1 includes 5 pages,then the Word Box 222 ₁ would include 5 pages with each page of the WordBox 222 ₁ corresponding to each page of Document 1. Thus, in thisexample, page 3 of Word Box 222 ₁ would the keywords-in-document searchbox 160 that do appear on page 3 of Document 1.

FIG. 2 shows that there are M quantity of documents that are displayedin display type 220. However, one skilled in the art would understandthat the quantity M can be 1 document or multiple documents.

In display type 230, presented are all documents that satisfy thekeyword requirement of the keywords-in-document search box 160 and theprescribed characteristics defined in the pattern search box 110.However, the documents presented in display type 230 do not satisfy allthe keyword requirement of the keywords-on-page search box 170. Word Box232 lists the keyword(s) entered into the keywords-on-page search box170 that is not found in each of the documents presented in display type230. In one example, since there are N quantity of documents in thedisplay type 230, Word Box 232 is divided into N partitions withpartition 232 ₁ corresponding to document 1 and partition 232 _(N)corresponding to document N of display type 230.

That is, each of the documents presented in display type 230 includesthe one or more keywords entered in the keywords-in-document search box160 and may or may not include the keyword(s) entered in thekeywords-on-page search box 170. In addition, all the documentspresented in the display type 230 include one or more pages with theprescribed characteristics defined in the pattern search box 110. Forexample, if the prescribed characteristics is the example shown in thepattern search box 110 of FIG. 1, then all the documents in display type230 must include one or more pages with text appearing in sections 121and 124, a picture in section 125 and a table in section 123.

In one example, the display type 230, “Word AA₁” through “Word ZZ₁”represent the keywords entered in keywords-on-page search box 170 thatdo not appear in Document 1 of display type 230. In display type 230,“Word AA_(N)” through “Word ZZ_(N)” represent the keywords entered inkeywords-on-page search box 170 that do not appear in Document N ofdisplay type 230. Each document from Document 1 through Document Mincludes a corresponding Word Box. In yet another example, each Word Boxthat correspond to one document of the Document 1 through Document M mayinclude multiple pages, wherein each of the multiple pages correspond toa page of the one document. For example, Document 1 includes 5 pages,then the Word Box 222 ₁ would include 5 pages with each page of the WordBox 222 ₁ corresponding to each page of Document 1. Thus, in thisexample, page 3 of Word Box 222 ₁ would the keywords-on-page search box170 that do not appear on page 3 of Document 1.

In another example, the display type 230, “Word AA₁” through “Word ZZ₁”represent the keywords entered in keywords-on-page search box 170 thatdo appear in Document 1 of display type 230. In display type 230, “WordAA_(N)” through “Word ZZ_(N)” represent the keywords entered inkeywords-on-page search box 170 that do appear in Document N of displaytype 230. Each document from Document 1 through Document M includes acorresponding Word Box. In yet another example, each Word Box thatcorrespond to one document of the Document 1 through Document M mayinclude multiple pages, wherein each of the multiple pages correspond toa page of the one document. For example, Document 1 includes 5 pages,then the Word Box 222 ₁ would include 5 pages with each page of the WordBox 222 ₁ corresponding to each page of Document 1. Thus, in thisexample, page 3 of Word Box 222 ₁ would the keywords-on-page search box170 that do appear on page 3 of Document 1.

FIG. 2 shows that there are N quantity of documents that are displayedin display type 230. However, one skilled in the art would understandthat the quantity N can be 1 document or multiple documents.

In display type 240, presented are all documents that satisfy theprescribed characteristics defined in the pattern search box 110, but donot satisfy the keyword requirement of the keywords-in-document searchbox 160 and the keyword requirement of the keywords-on-page search box170.

That is, all the documents presented in display type 240 do not includeany of the keywords entered in the keywords-in-document search box 160,and do not include any of the keywords entered in the keywords-on-pagesearch box 170. But, all the documents presented in the display type 240include one or more pages with the prescribed characteristics defined inthe pattern search box 110. For example, if the prescribedcharacteristics is the example shown in the pattern search box 110 ofFIG. 1, then all the documents in display type 240 must include one ormore pages with text appearing in sections 121 and 124, a picture insection 125 and a table in section 123.

FIG. 2 shows that there are Q quantity of documents that are displayedin display type 240. However, one skilled in the art would understandthat the quantity Q can be 1 document or multiple documents.

In one example, some (but not all) of the keywords entered in thekeywords-in-document search box 160, and some (but not all) of thekeywords entered in the keywords-on-page search box 170 are found in thedocuments presented in a display result. In this example, the displaytype may include two Word Boxes to correspond to each document displayedin the display type. A first Word Box for a particular document presentsthe word(s) of the keywords-in-document search box 160 not found in theparticular document while a second Word Box for the particular documentpresents the word(s) of the keywords-on-page search box 170 not found inthe pages of the particular document.

In an alternative example, the display type may include two Word Boxesto correspond to each document displayed in the display type with afirst Word Box for a particular document presents the word(s) of thekeywords-in-document search box 160 found in the particular document anda second Word Box for the particular document presents the word(s) ofthe keywords-on-page search box 170 found in the pages of the particulardocument. In one example, the second Word Box may include multiple pagesto correspondent to the quantity of pages of the particular document.

In one example, each of the four display types 210, 220, 230, 240 of theresult display shown in FIG. 2 is associated with an enabling/disablingoption whereby the display type may be disabled so that it is notdisplayed. For example if display types 220 and 230 are disabled anddisplay types 210 and 240 are enabled, then the result display 200 wouldonly show display types 210 and 240.

In the example of FIG. 2, presentation (i.e., displaying) the Word Boxesis optional. In the example of FIG. 2, one or more pattern element maybe specified without the specification of a section in the patternsearch box. That is, the pattern element(s) that is specified without anassociated section need only appear in a page of a document for thedocument to be presented in the search result.

In one example, the matching of a page in a document to the prescribedcharacteristics defined in the pattern search box 110 need not be exact.That is, partial matching may be defined by the user. For example, auser may have the option to define that a particular pattern element ina plurality of pattern elements in the pattern search box 110 may beoptional for a particular section or sections.

In one example, the presentation of documents in the display type may besubject to a presentation order. The presentation order may bepredefined or may be defined by a user prior to the start of each searchsession. An example of a presentation order may be that a document withthe most exact matching of the prescribed characteristics defined in thepattern search box 110 and with the most quantity ofkeywords-in-document search box 160 and the most quantity ofkeywords-on-page search box 170 are presented in the result display 200first or more prominently than another document with less exact matchingof the prescribed characteristics defined in the pattern search box 110and with less quantity of keywords-in-document search box 160 and/orless quantity of keywords-on-page search box 170.

In one example, a presentation order may be weighted based on how 1)closely matched the pages in a document are to the prescribedcharacteristics defined in the pattern search box 110; 2) how many ofthe keywords in the keywords-in-document search box 160 are found in thedocument; and/or 3) how many of the keywords in the keywords-on-pagesearch box 170 are found in the document. In one example, a weightingfunction may apply to the above three requirements to determine thepresentation order.

In one example, if a document has a first page that meets the criteriaof being displayed in display type 210, a second page that meets thecriteria of being displayed in display type 220, a third page that meetsthe criteria of being displayed in display type 230 and/or a fourth pagethat meets the criteria of being displayed in display type 240, thatdocument may only appear in one of the four display types. In oneexample, the display type that meets the most criteria for searching iswhere the document will be presented. In another example, a user maychoose the display type for the document.

In one example, the display of a document will include all pages of thedocument that meet the search criteria for the display type that thedocument will be displayed in.

In one example, the display of a document will include all pages of thedocument that meet the search criteria for all display types even thoughthe document is being displayed in the window of one display type. As anexample for illustration only, if a document includes a first page thatmeets the criteria for displaying in display type 210, a second pagethat meets the criteria for displaying in display type 220 and a thirdpage that meets the criteria for displaying in display type 230, thedocument may be displayed in display type 210 showing the first, thesecond and the third page. One skilled in the art would understand thatother examples for displaying when different pages of a document meetsthe different criteria of the different display types are also withinthe scope and spirit of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a flow diagram 300 for searching adatabase for one or more documents with one or more pattern elements anddisplaying a search result on a result display.

In box 310, input at least one keyword in a keywords-in-document searchbox. In one example, the at least one keyword must appear in a documentfor the document to be included in a search result.

In box 320, input at least one keyword in a keywords-on-page search box.In one example, the at least one keyword must appear in a page of adocument for the document to be included in a search result.

In box 330, divide a pattern search box into a plurality of sections. Inon example, a user may construct the borders of each of the plurality ofsections in the pattern search box. In one example, one of the pluralityof sections may have different border shapes and/or a different size(i.e., area foot print) to another of the plurality of sections.

In box 340, input at least one pattern element to one or more of theplurality of sections of the pattern search box.

In box 350, search the database for the one or more documents with theat least one pattern element to the one or more of the plurality ofsections of the pattern search box to produce an intermediate searchresult. In one example, the intermediate search result includes alldocuments in the database that include at least one page with the atleast one pattern element located on the one or more of the plurality ofsections of the pattern search box.

In box 360, search the intermediate search result for the one or moredocuments with either the at least one keyword in thekeywords-in-document search box or the at least one keyword in thekeywords-on-page search box to produce a search result. In one example,the search result includes only documents in the intermediate searchresult that includes either at least one keyword in the document thathas been entered in the keywords-in-document search box and/or at leastone keyword in a page of the document that has been entered in thekeywords-on-page search box.

In box 370, display the search result in a result display wherein eachdocument of the search result is displayed in either a common imageformat (CIF) or in a scaled original document format. In one example,the result display includes one or more of the display types 210, 220,230, 240 as disclosed in FIG. 2.

In one aspect, one or more of the steps for searching documents with oneor more pattern elements and displaying a search result on a resultdisplay in FIG. 3 may be executed by one or more processors which mayinclude hardware, software, firmware, etc. In one aspect, one or more ofthe steps illustrated in FIG. 3 may be executed by one or moreprocessors which may include hardware, software, firmware, etc. The oneor more processors, for example, may be used to execute software orfirmware needed to perform the steps in the flow diagram of FIG. 3.Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instructionsets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, softwaremodules, applications, software applications, software packages,routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution,procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware,middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.

The software may reside on a computer-readable medium. Thecomputer-readable medium may be a non-transitory computer-readablemedium. A non-transitory computer-readable medium includes, by way ofexample, a magnetic storage device (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk,magnetic strip), an optical disk (e.g., a compact disc (CD) or a digitalversatile disc (DVD)), a smart card, a flash memory device (e.g., acard, a stick, or a key drive), a random access memory (RAM), a readonly memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM),an electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), a register, a removable disk,and any other suitable medium for storing software and/or instructionsthat may be accessed and read by a computer. The computer-readablemedium may also include, by way of example, a carrier wave, atransmission line, and any other suitable medium for transmittingsoftware and/or instructions that may be accessed and read by acomputer. The computer-readable medium may reside in a processingsystem, external to the processing system, or distributed acrossmultiple entities including the processing system. The computer-readablemedium may be embodied in a computer program product. By way of example,a computer program product may include a computer-readable medium inpackaging materials. The computer-readable medium may include softwareor firmware for searching documents with one or more pattern elementsand displaying a search result on a result display. Those skilled in theart will recognize how best to implement the described functionalitypresented throughout this disclosure depending on the particularapplication and the overall design constraints imposed on the overallsystem.

Any circuitry included in the processor(s) is merely provided as anexample, and other means for carrying out the described functions may beincluded within various aspects of the present disclosure, including butnot limited to the instructions stored in the computer-readable medium,or any other suitable apparatus or means described herein, andutilizing, for example, the processes and/or algorithms described hereinin relation to the example flow diagram.

Within the present disclosure, the word “exemplary” is used to mean“serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementationor aspect described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to beconstrued as preferred or advantageous over other aspects of thedisclosure. Likewise, the term “aspects” does not require that allaspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage ormode of operation. The term “coupled” is used herein to refer to thedirect or indirect coupling between two objects. For example, if objectA physically touches object B, and object B touches object C, thenobjects A and C may still be considered coupled to one another—even ifthey do not directly physically touch each other. For instance, a firstdie may be coupled to a second die in a package even though the firstdie is never directly physically in contact with the second die. Theterms “circuit” and “circuitry” are used broadly, and intended toinclude both hardware implementations of electrical devices andconductors that, when connected and configured, enable the performanceof the functions described in the present disclosure, without limitationas to the type of electronic circuits, as well as softwareimplementations of information and instructions that, when executed by aprocessor, enable the performance of the functions described in thepresent disclosure.

One or more of the components, steps, features and/or functionsillustrated in the figures may be rearranged and/or combined into asingle component, step, feature or function or embodied in severalcomponents, steps, or functions. Additional elements, components, steps,and/or functions may also be added without departing from novel featuresdisclosed herein. The apparatus, devices, and/or components illustratedin the figures may be configured to perform one or more of the methods,features, or steps described herein. The novel algorithms describedherein may also be efficiently implemented in software and/or embeddedin hardware.

It is to be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps inthe methods disclosed is an illustration of exemplary processes. Basedupon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order orhierarchy of steps in the methods may be rearranged. The accompanyingmethod claims present elements of the various steps in a sample order,and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchypresented unless specifically recited therein.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. Variousmodifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theaspects shown herein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistentwith the language of the claims, wherein reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specificallyso stated, but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically statedotherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. A phrase referring to“at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of thoseitems, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b,or c” is intended to cover: a; b; c; a and b; a and c; b and c; and a, band c. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of thevarious aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known orlater come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art areexpressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to beencompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein isintended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether suchdisclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is tobe construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph,unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for” or,in the case of a method claim, the element is recited using the phrase“step for.”

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for searching a database for one or moredocuments with at least one pattern element, the method comprising:dividing a pattern search box into a plurality of sections; inputtingthe at least one pattern element to one or more of the plurality ofsections of the pattern search box; and searching the database for theone or more documents with the at least one pattern element to the oneor more of the plurality of sections of the pattern search box toproduce a search result.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprisingdisplaying the search result in a result display with at least onedisplay type.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: inputting afirst keyword in a keywords-in-document search box prior to searchingthe database; inputting a second keyword in a keywords-on-page searchbox prior to searching the database; and wherein the searching thedatabase uses the at least one pattern element, the first keyword andthe second keyword.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the result displaycomprises more than two display types.
 5. The method of claim 4, whereinone of the more than two display types presents all documents thatinclude the first keyword, the second keyword and a prescribedcharacteristic defined in the pattern search box.
 6. The method of claim4, wherein one of the more than two display types presents all documentsthat include the first keyword and a prescribed characteristic definedin the pattern search box.
 7. The method of claim 4, wherein one of themore than two display types presents all documents that include thesecond keyword and a prescribed characteristic defined in the patternsearch box.
 8. The method of claim 4, wherein one of the more than twodisplay types presents all documents that include a prescribedcharacteristic defined in the pattern search box.
 9. The method of claim1, further comprising: inputting a first keyword in akeywords-in-document search box prior to searching the database;inputting a second keyword in a keywords-on-page search box prior tosearching the database; and wherein the searching the database uses theat least one pattern element, the first keyword and the second keyword.10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: inputting at least onekeyword in a keywords-in-document search box prior to searching thedatabase; and wherein the searching the database uses the at least onepattern element and the at least one keyword inputted in thekeywords-in-document search box.
 11. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: inputting at least one keyword in a keywords-on-page searchbox prior to searching the database; and wherein the searching thedatabase uses the at least one pattern element and the at least onekeyword inputted in the keywords-on-page search box.